Qatar

The Qatar or, less used, Katar (in Arab: rear RTL دولةقطر) is a emirate the Middle East of a surface of: 11427 km ². It is located on a small peninsula surrounded by the Saudi Arabia at the south and the Arabian Gulf at north. Its capital is Doha, the official language is the Arab and the currency the Riyal of Qatar.

Qatar is an important producer of Pétrole and member of OPEC.

History

See also: History of Qatar

The Qatar is one of many and recent emirates of the Arabic peninsula. After dominatebeing dominated by the Persian S during thousands of years then more recently by Bahrain, the Othoman or the British , Qatar became an independent State on September 3rd, 1971. With the difference of the majority of the close emirates, Qatar refused to become a member of the United Arab Emirates as well as Saudi Arabia. In spite of an arid and difficult climate, Qatar always knew a human presence lasting of the thousands of years. This presence is the fact of several wandering tribes or on the coasts with small villages of fishing. The tribes were fought for the most lucrative grounds, formant and thus breaking coalitions between them.

The Portuguese occupied the Détroit of Ormuz, then Mascate and Bahrain. In 1517, they took Qatar and imposed their maritime and commercial control in the Gulf. In 1538, they were driven out area by the Othomans who dominated Qatar during four centuries. The Othomans will not impose the Turkish language to the inhabitants, this language remaining the only prerogative of the administration. During the 17th century, the country was marked by violent competitions between the tribes wishing to control the territory. The conflicts between tribes continued until the beginning of the 19th century, whereas the British decided to intervene.

The British first of all regarded Qatar and the Persian Gulf as a strategic intermediate position for their colonial interests in India, but the hydrocarbon and oil discovery hundred years later will change their vision. During the 19th century, period of development of the British companies, the family Al Khalifa reign on the peninsula qatarie and the island of Bahrain. Although Qatar is a legal possession, disputes are born, along the Eastern littoral in the villages of fishing of Doha and Al Wakrah, towards the domination of Bahreïnis Al Khalifa. In 1867, Al Khalifa launch a massive offensive against the rebels qataris by sending a naval force to Wakrah. In spite of the success of the operation, the aggression bahreïnie viol a treaty of 1820 between the United Kingdom and Bahreïnis. The British diplomatic answer is not made wait, colonel Lewis Pelly responsible for the Protectorat begins talks with a person in charge of Qatar. These talks lead to a tacit separation of the statute of Qatar of with that of Bahrain. The man chosen to negotiate with colonel Pelly was a respected contractor and a resident of long time of Doha: Muhammed Ben Thani. The family Al Thani, had been relatively inactive in the policy of Gulf, but this event ensures the ascending one to him on Qatar as a reigning family, a dynasty always places from there to date.

The Second world war calls into question the influence of the British on their Empire, particularly when the India had become independent in 1947. The incentive with a similar withdrawal of the emirates of the Gulf accelerated during the Années 1950 and the British accommodated well the declaration of independence of the Kuwait in 1961. Seven years later, they announce officially that they will be disengaged (politically, but not economically) of the Gulf within three year. Qatar, Bahrain and seven other States form a federation. Nevertheless, of the regional conflicts lead Qatar to declare its independence with respect to the coalition which becomes the United Arab Emirates. 1971 mark the birth of Qatar like Sovereign state and becomes member of the United Nations.

In 2005, Qatar is directed by the emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who took the orders of the country by reversing his father Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani in 1995 while this one was on vacation in Suisse (he will live in exile in France then in Italy until in 2004, date of his return to Qatar). Under the emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Qatar recorded many social reforms (women's rights) and policies; the new emir seems much more liberal than his father. He equips also the country with a new constitution and he created Al-Jazira, the Arab CNN, which is for much in the notoriety of the country. In 2004, an attack probably orchestrated by the Russians kills the Chechen president exiled in Qatar. In 2005, a attack-suicide aiming a small theater at Doha killed a British national, professor of English and theater. This event shocked the country which had never known terrorist act before.

Policy

See also: Political of Qatar

With the eyes of the Occident, the government qatari seems to keep a strict control on freedom of expression and the movements for the equality; however compared with its neighbors like the Saudi Arabia, Qatar is one of the countries relatively most liberal of the area.

In Qatar, sovereign family Al-Thani (rear RTL آلثاني) continued to hold only the capacity following the declaration of independence of the country in 1971. The emir, who is the Head of the State, manages Qatar while being based on family Al-Thani. Nevertheless, from the political point of view, Qatar started to evolve/move of a traditional company in a modern State, with the listening of the wellbeing of its citizens, since the years 1990.

The base of law of Qatar (1970) institutionalized the local habits enracinées in the preserving heritage Wahhabite (its influence decreased today) of Qatar, conferring on the emir a very great capacity. The maintenance of the traditions of consultation, managed by consensus, and of the civil right to call upon the emir personally, influence the role of the emir. The emir, while it is submitted to no individual, cannot violate the Charia (the Islamic law) and, in practice, must take into account the opinions of the notable leaders and the religious authority. The Advisory counsel, a group with the designated members which assists the emir in the development of new policies, institutionalized the position of these kinds of groups of influences. No political party exists in the country. The Foreign Minister, questioned several times on this question, answers that Qatar is a small country and cannot contain all the political parties .

The Arabic expatriates surge introduced ideas which call in question the doctrines of the traditional company of Qatar, but no serious dispute with the authority of family Al-Thani emerged.

In February 1972, the sovereign deputy and Prime Minister, Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, relieved his/her cousin, emir Ahmad, and assumed all the capacities. The important members of family Al-Thani supported her decision, carried out without any violence nor signs of political agitations.

June 27th, 1995, the sovereign deputy and Prime Minister, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, relieved his father, emir Khalifa without violence. and fixed itself for objective the visibility of Qatar on the scene regional and, as much as possible, international. The emir Hamad and his father reconciled themselves in 1996, but the reversed sovereign returns to the country only in 2004 after having remained in France then in Italy. Freedom of the press was extended, and the television broadcast station Al Jezira located at Qatar, acquired a single reputation as a free and not-censured source information in the Arab countries.

In 1999, the first elections for a Town council are organized, candidature for all the adults, women included/understood, and in April 2003 the country obtains a constitution, whose drafting lasted four years. Its main new thing: institution of a " Majlis Al-Choura" (advisory counsel) thirty of the forty-five members will be elected by the universal direct suffrage, fifteen others being named by the emir (article 77). The first election of this Parliament took place in 2004. The new Constitution does not authorize therefore the formation of political parties. One of the most innovative articles is that which guarantees freedom of worship, without restricting it with the religions monotheists known as “of the Book”. At the time of the war against Iraq the country was used as a basis for the American staff (American central command of Tampa, Florida (“Centcom”) responsible for the operations of war in Iraq). :

unanimously that Qatar has sovereignty on Zubarah.
said by twelve votes against five that Bahrain has sovereignty on the Hawar islands.
recalls unanimously that the ships of Qatar enjoy in the territorial sea Bahrain separating the Hawar islands from the other islands bahreïnites of the right of innocent passage devoted by the usual international law.
said by thirteen votes against four that Qatar has sovereignty on the island of Janan, including Hadd Janan.
said by twelve votes against five that Bahrain has sovereignty on the island of Qit' At Jaradah.
says unanimously that the low-tide elevation of Fasht AD Dibal concerns the sovereignty of Qatar.

The payment is accepted by the two countries and Qatar declares non-working the two days following the proclamation of the decision.

Subdivisions

Economy

Demography

Culture

The law in Qatar

In comparison of the other Arab States like the Saudi Arabia, Qatar has liberal laws rather, although they in globality are inspired by the Charia like the other states of the Arabic peninsula.

The country lived one period of change after the current emir of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, came to the capacity after having relieved his father. For example, no shape of clothes is imposed on the Femme S which can get dressed as they wish it in public (although in practice the women qataris generally carry the black Abaya). They have also the right to lead to Qatar whereas they could not do it in Saudi Arabia (this right existed well before the arrival of Hamad). Except with the women members the family the Emir, who cannot lead themselves for reasons " of order royal" who wants that the women of the reigning family profit drivers. The laws of Qatar tolerate alcohol until a certain limit. The purchase of alcoholic drinks in certain public places is subjected to a license of purchase delivered by the authorities but officially prohibited with the people of Moslem confession. However, the public bars in Qatar operate only in the luxurious hotels (whereas emirates of Dubai and of Bahrain allow the establishment of “nightclubs”, and that the Saudi Arabia, much more preserving, prohibited completely alcohol).

Education

Teaching in Qatar is free and obligatory at the same time for the children qataris and those of the immigrant workers. During last years, Qatar gave a great importance to the education. As well as the services of free health care for all the citizens, each child is entitled to free education starting from the nursery until the end of the Collège. Each community of the country has a school which follows the program of its country of origin. The country has a Université, the Université of Qatar, and a certain number of institutions allowing the continuation of higher learning. Moreover, with the support of the Foundation of Qatar, of the famous American universities opened campuses in the Education City, Qatar. Those include the Université Carnegie Mellon, the Georgetown university, the Université Texas A&M, the Université the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Medical Board Weill of the Université of Cornell. In 2004, Qatar established the Parc of Sciences and Technologies of Qatar in City Education to connect these universities with industry.

In November 2002, the emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani created, by the decree number 37, the Supreme Council of Education, which includes, among the members of its family, the woman of the emir, Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missnad, Ambassadrice of UNESCO for basic education and the higher education, and the purpose of which is to supervise the complete reform of the system of public education in Qatar. The Council directs and controls education for any age, from the pre-school one up to the university level, including the reform initiative of Education for a New Era. Independent schools financed by the State were created during the years which followed the creation of the Council. These schools will be guided by new programmes of teaching in Arabic, English, mathematics and sciences.

Sport

Qatar gained two bronze medals: with the Olympic Games of summer of 1992 with Barcelona, with the 1500m men: Mohamed Ahmed Sulaiman and, with the Olympic Games of summer of 2000 with Sydney, Said Saif Asaad finished 3rd in Haltérophilie men, more 105kg. With an aim of making known itself in the world, the country uses the sport to accommodate famous significant events and sportsmen. The qatarie Federation is recognized by CIO since 1980. The country accommodates each year the Open of Doha. The country accommodated the Asian plays in December 2006, the third world sports event, after the World cup and the Olympic Games. To this end, the Khalifa stage in Doha was increased, a whole of sports complexes was built around recovering a surface of 130 hectares. The Campus ASPIRES, sporting academy of Qatar to the point of modernity, represents one of the central buildings of this complex. For its inauguration, Maradona, Peeled and Hicham El Guerrouj was invited. The country launched a policy to naturalize high level sportsmen. Qatar even gained a gold medal with the championships of the world of athletics of Paris of August 2003 - in fact, thanks to a ex-Kenyan, Stephen Cherono, which had just been naturalized and renamed Saif Said Shaheen in exchange of wages with life. Qatar proposes even with footballers who would not have been selected in their countries nationality qatarie in order to qualify the Emirate for the World cup 2006, but the International federation of football (FIFA) put a veto at such a project

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